Rishabh Pant recorded yet another failure with the willow as he departed after scoring only 17 of 23 in the 4th T20I on Friday whereas Dinesh Karthik continued his dream run to remind selectors of his finish prowess as the senior batter led India to a series-leveling 82-run victory over South Africa in the fourth T20I on Friday.
The 37-year-old Dinesh Karthik smashed 55 off only 27 deliveries to guide India to 169 for six, which was defended comfortably by Indian bowlers who rode Avesh Khan’s best T20I figures of 4-18. While it was a near-perfect game for the hosts India, who set up a series decider in Bengaluru, stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant perished early once again.
The 24-year-old stumper tried to hit a Keshav Maharaj delivery that would have been declared wide. Rishabh Pant has registered scores of 29, 5, 6, and 17 in the first 4 T20Is falling in a similar fashion in the ongoing T20 assignment against visitors Proteas. With Dinesh Karthik’s emergence in the T20 format, it remains to be seen whether the selectors persist with Rishabh Pant if he returns lowly scores in the long run.
Rishabh Pant Should Be Given A Break: Danish Kaneria
Former Pakistan tweaker Danish Kaneria has also slammed the Indian’s mediocre showing, saying the team management needs to explore other options as well. He proposed the name of Wriddhiman Saha, who enjoyed a stellar run with Gujarat Titans in the recently-concluded IPL 2022 season. Danish Kaneria also wants to see Dinesh Karthik or KS Bharat behind the sticks.
“India have got a nice team combination with better understanding between players. Karthik and Hardik have been performing consistently but Ruturaj and Ishan haven’t been able to do it. Also, Pant needs to improve his batting. India have also got KS Bharat. I also don’t see any problem in bringing in Wriddhiman Saha.”
“Just give a break to Rishabh Pant. Saha was excellent for Gujarat Titans in the IPL. Also, Karthik can keep the wickets. We saw that during his time with Royal Challengers Bangalore,” said Kaneria on his YouTube channel.
“Pant can be rested to bring in a player who can bat well in the middle order. Rohit, Virat, Suryakumar, and Rahul will return to the team soon… and Pant’s place will under major threat. Pant is an immense talent but he’s wasting it. The selection committee and management need to talk with Pant if they want to move on. That’s a possibility after the ongoing series,” he further added.
Wriddhiman Saha gave the Gujarat Titans a few flying starts during the powerplay overs in IPL 2022. However, he couldn’t deliver the goods in the playoff matches, falling for a duck in Qualifier 1 and managing just five runs in the all-important IPL 2022 final-both against Rajasthan Royals.
Wriddhiman Saha, the Test discard, had scored 317 runs from 11 IPL 2022 games averaging 31.7 at a strike rate of 122.39. His age of 37 is not on his side. He has played only 9 ODIs besides 40 Tests and is yet to play a T20I.
Rishabh Pant Hasn’t Learned From His Previous Three Dismissals As He Keeps On Going To Hit Wide Balls Outside Off-Stump: Sunil Gavaskar
Legendary Sunil Gavaskar was also critical of Rishabh Pant, who yet again chased a wide delivery that was way outside the off-stump. Rishabh Pant has been finding it tough with the bat, managing to score just 57 runs in four games so far.
“He hasn’t learned. He hasn’t learned from his previous three dismissals. They throw wide, and he keeps going for it. He can’t throw enough muscle on that. He has got to stop looking to go aerial that far outside the off-stump,” said Gavaskar during his commentary stint on Star Sports.
“10 times, he has been dismissed wide outside off-stump. Some of them would’ve been called wide if he hadn’t made contact with it. Because he’s so far away, he has to reach out for it. He will never get enough power on it. To keep getting out in the same series in the same manner, for a captain of the Indian team, that’s not a good sign,” he added.
Rishabh Pant has struggled with the bat in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa so far, having registered scores of 29, 5, 6, and 17. Rishabh Pant has scored 740 runs in 47 T20Is at a low average and strike rate of 23.12 and 123.95 respectively with three half-centuries to his name.